KINGS MOUNTAIN HXEALD. KINGS MOUNTAIN, N. C
TU
eTreyO' Hearts
A NowIUat. Version of the Motion Picture Drama of th t t Num
.. , . . .. Produced by the Universal Film Co.
1' U
By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
AUr wfMTfm Fitm Hir,HTk Rhm Bool." " Tim Blmck B," at
IDMrttwHkPbUPfrolfiCttrtrrWtiM
. Copyright, 1914, brLouiaJoMpbVi
8YN0P8I8.
The I of Heart! ) tha "death sign" em
ployed by Seneca Trine In the private war
of vengeance which, through tile daugh
ter Judith, a woman of violent pauslunji
like his own, he wages agnlnat Alan Law.
eon of the man (now dead) whom Trine
held responsible ror the accident which
made him a helplens cripple. Hnao, Ju
dith's twli and double, loves Alan, anl
learning of her sister's campaign agniiiMt
him, leaves home and joins her fortunes
. to his. Under dramatic circumstance!)
Alan saves Judith's life and ao wins her
, love; but failure to shake his countancy
to Rose kindles Judith's Jealousy and ant
flee her In her homicidal purpose. Who la
largely responalhle for a shipwreck In
Kantucket's sound, from which Rose and
Alan escape with their friend Barcus, Ju
41th pursuing In a chartered schooner
with a crew of cut-throats.
CHAPTER XVIII
i
' Stranded.
Mr. Thomas Barcus picked himself
VP from the bottom of the lifeboat,
where he had been violently precipi
tated by the impact of grounding,
blinked and wiped tears of pain from
"J JS, BUIlblMHUOIJ tDDlCU UID UVDO
and seemed to derive little if any com
fort from the discovery tbat it was not
broken, opened bis mouth . . . and
remembered the presence of a lady.
"Poor Mr. Barcus!" she said gently.
.' "I'm so sorry. Do forget I'm here
and say it out loud!"
Mr. Barcus dropped bis hands and
cropped nis neaa at tne same time.
' "It p.nn't hp iltri " ha mmnlninori In
have never been Invented . . ."
fn V,,. ... rn T . wm U. 1....4
barely saved himself a headlong
Mmge overboard when the shoal took
'Vast hold of the keel) felt tenderly of
v. . . . .. . . . ,
turn exconaieu smns, men, nBing, com-
passed the sea, sky and shore with an
, Anxious gaze.
' " In the offing there was nothing but
the flat, limitless expanse, of the night-
. bound tide, near at band vaguely sil
vered with the moonlight, in the dis
tances blending Into shadows; never
, light or shadowy, stealing sail In
that quarter to indicate pursuit
' "Where are we?" he wondered aloud.
. "Ask me an easy one," Barcus re-
. plied; "somewhere on the south shore
of the cape unless somebody's been
tampering with the lay of this land.:
That's a lighthouse over yonder."
Alan took soundings from the bows.
"Barely two feet," he announced.
V It
Withdrawing the oar from the water,
"and eel-arses no end."
.. "Oh!" Barcus ejaculated with the
accent of enlightenment; and leaving
the motor, turned to the (tern, over
- Which he draped himself In highly un
daeorative fashion while groping un
derwater for the propeller.
' "That's the answer," he repeated;
"there's a young bale of the said eel
grass wrapped round the wheel.
'.Which, I suppose, means I've got to
jgo overboard and clear it away."
v i -."If you've nothing better to do, my
Critical friend," he observed as he
Stooped to hack and tear at the mass
of weed embarrassing the propeller.
"you might step out and give us a
. Dug Into His Money Belt.
trial shove. Don't strain yourself
just see If you cad move her." . -v
The boat budged not an Inch but
Mr. Law's feet did, slipping on the
i treacherous -mud bottom with the up
shot of .Us downfall; with a mighty
plash h disappeared momentarily
; beneath twsiurface and left his tem
. per behindrhtm when be emerged. -'
' As for Mr. Bare as, he suffered Ilk
loss within Ave minutes; when, with
much pains and patience having treed
tha wheel,, he climbed, aboard and
sought to restart the motor.. After
tew affecting coughs It relapsed Into
stubborn silence.
Btudlena examination at length
.-ought out the faot that the gasoline
A iAk was empty.
" Hta no use," he conceded at length.
:We're here for keeps."
"Why not wade ashore P Rot Trine
suggested mildly from the place she-
naa lakes In the stern in order to
lighten the bows. "It isn't far nd
Whatl one mora wetting!" " s- :
Tha.'yht only aenslbla remark
- '' 1 1 i sw I
- ' If 3
'sjajsjiM
L 1 MM-
that's been uttered by any party to
this lunatic enterprise since yon hove
within earshot of me, Mr. Law," said
Mr. Barcus. "ResDectfullv submitted."
"The verdict of the lower court
stands approved," Alan responded
gravely.
"Hut there's no sense in Miss Trine
wading," Barcus suggested. "We're
web-footed as it is, and she's too
tired."
"Well, what then?"
"We can carry her, can't we?"
CHAPTER XIX.
"Gee!" he grunted frankly, when
after a toilsome progress from the
boat. Rose at length slipped from the
seat formed by the clasped hands of
the two men. "And It was ms who
suggested this!"
The girl responded with a quiet
laugh of the most natural effect imag
inableuntil it ended in a sigh, and
without the least warning she crum
pled upon herself, and would have
fallen heavily. In a dead faint, but for
Alan's quickness.
"Good Lord!" Barcus exclaimed, as
Alan gently lowered the Inert body of
the girl to the sands. "And to think
I didn't understand she was so nearly
all in chaffing her like that! I'd like
to kick myself!"
"Don't be impatient," Alan advised
grimly; "I'm busy Just at present, but
. . Meantime, you might fetch
some water to revive her."
It was an order by no means easy
to fill; Barcus had only his cupped
hands for a vessel, and little water
remained in them by the time he had
dashed from the shallows back to the
Bpot where Rosa lay unconscious.
while the few drops he did manage
to sprinkle into her face availed noth
ing' toward rousing her from the
trance-like slumbers of exhaustion into
which she passed from her fainting
fit. . . .
In the end Alan gave up the effort
"She's all right," ha reported, releas
ing the wrist whose pulse he bad been
timing. "Sha fainted, right enough,
but now she's Just asleep and needs
It God knows 1 It would be kinder
to let her rest at least until I see what
sort of a reception that lighthouse Is
Inclined to offer us."
Barcus nodded. His face was drawn
and gray In the moon-glare. "Thank
God!" he breathed brokenly, "you're
able. I'm not" :
He sat down suddenly and rested his
head on his knees. "Don't be longer
than you can help," ha muttered
thickly. '
He had come to the headland of
the lighthouse Itself before the ground
began to shelve more gently to the
beach; and was on the point of ad
dressing himself to the dark and silent
cottage of the Ugbtkeeper when he
paused, struck by sight of what till
then had been hidden from him.
The promontoryi he found, formed
the eastern extremity of a wide-armed
If shallow harbor where rode at moor
Inge a considerable number of small
craft pleasure vessels assorted about
equally with Ashing boats. And barely
an eighth of a mile on, long-legged
wharves stood knee-deep in the water,
like tentacles flung out from the sleepy
little fishing Tillage that dotted the
rising ground a community of per
haps two hundred dwellings. ,
Nor wasthls all even as Alan hove
in view of tha village he heard a series
of staccato snorts, the harsh tolling of
a brazen bell, the rumble of a train
pulling out from a station. And then
he saw Its Jewel-string of lights flash
athwart the landscape and vanish as
its noise died away diminuendo.?-
Where one train ran another must.
He need only now secure something
to revive Rose, help her somehow up
the beach, and In another hour or two,
of a certainty, they would be speed
ing northwards, up the cape, toward
Boston and tha land of law and order.
' Such thoughts as these, at least
made up the texture of his hopes; the
outcome proved them somewhat too
presumptuous. He Jogged down a
quiet village street and Into the rail
road station Just as the agent was clos
ing up for the night
A surly citizen, this agent ill-pleased
to have his plans disordered by chance
dung strangers. He greeted Alan's
breathless query with a grunt Of In
grained churlishness. ! ' -
"Nan," he averred, "they ain't no
more trains till mornln'. Can't y' see
I'm shuttip' up?" . . . ,
"But surely there must be a tele
graph station " .
"Ton bet your Ufa they Is right
here In this depot An' I'm shuttln' It
up, too" . --V :-, '. - .
"Has the operator, gona tor tha
nlghtr ,
"He's going. I'm tha op'rator, No
buslneas transacted after office hours.
Call raound at eight o'clock tomor
row mornln'. Now If you'll Jest step
out of that door, III say gd-night to
you."
"But I must tend a telegram," Alan
protested. "I tell you, I must It's
a matter of life and death." j , (,
"Sure, young feller. It always la
after his loess hours." -' -t .
"Woat yon open up igain ' -.. ,
"I tell you, nol"
In desperation Alan rammed a hand
Into his trousers pocket "Will a dol
lar Influence your better Judgment?"
he suggested shrewdly.
"Let's see your dollar," the other re
turned with no leas craftopen In
credulity Informing his countenance.
And, surely enough, Alan brought
forth an empty hand.
"Make a light," he said sharply. "My
money's in a belt round my waist
Open your office. You'll get your dol
lar, all right."
"All right," ha grumbled, reopening
tbe door of tha telegraph booth and
making a second light Inside. "There's
blanks and a pencil. Write your mes
sage. It alnt often I do this but I'll
make an -exception for yon."
Alan delayed long enough only to
make a few Inquiries, drawing out
the Information that, for one who had
not patience to wait the morning
train northbound, the quickest way
to any city of Importance was by boat
acroaB Buzzard's bay to New Bedford.
Addressed to Dlgby, his man of
business in New York, it required that
gentleman to arrange, for a motor-cor
to be held In waiting on the water
front of New Bedford from 8:00 a. m.
until called for In tbe name of Mr.
Law, as well as for a special train at
Providence, on similar provisions.
But now, though he was all uncon
scious of the fact he went no more
alone.
His shadow In the moonlight kept
him company upon the sands; and
above, on the edge of the bluffs, an
other shadow moved on parallel
course and at a pace sedulously pat
terned after his.
He found his sweetheart and his
friend much as he had left them, with
this difference that Mr. Barcus now
lay flat on his back and snoring
lustily.
He was wakened quickly enough,
however, by Alan's news.
But when it was the turn of Rose
they faltered. She lay so still, be
trayed her exhaustion so patently In
every line of her unconscious posture,
ae well as in the sharp pallor of her
face upturned to the moon, that It
seemed scarcely less than downright
inhumanity to disturb her.
None the less, it had to be done.
Alan hardened his heart with the re
minder of their urgent necessity, and
"" xCV
fc'-' 'f
ti Sa-4 kf
I Jf-v It 'k l"fif
Two Men
eventually brought her to wfth the
aid of a few drops of brandy.
Between them, they helped her up
tbe beach, past the point and at length
to the door of the hotel, where reani
mated by tbe mere promlee of food
Rose disengaged their arms and en
tered without mora assistance; while
Barcus was deterred from treading
her heels In his own famished eager
ness, by the hand of Alan falling heav
ily upon his arm. 1
"Walt!" the latter admonished la
a half-whisper. "Look there !"
Barcus followed the direction of his
gesture end was transfixed by the
sight of a rocket spearing Into the
nlgbt-draped sky from a point Invis
ible beyond the headland of tbe light
house.
The two consulted one another with
startled and fearful eyes.
As with one voice they murmured
one word: "Judith!" To this Alan
added gravely: "Or some spy of
hers!" -: -
Then rousing, Alan released his
friend, with a smart shove urging him
across the threshold of tha hotel.
"Go on," he Insisted, "Join Rose and
get your supper, I'll be with you as
soon aa I can arrange for a boat Tell
her nothing more than that that I
thought It unwise to wait until every
body waa abed before looking round."
. He turned to find his landlord ap
proaching from the direction of the
hotel barroom. And for the time it
seemed that the wind of their luck
must have veered to a favoring quar
ter; for the question was barely ut
tered before the landlord lifted a will
ing voice and hailed a fellow towns
man Idling near by. .
. "'Hey, Jake-i-come here!" .
Introduced as Mr. Breed, Jaka
pleaded guilty to ownership of the
fastest and stanches t power-cruiser
la the adjacent waters, which, he waa
avariciously keen to charter.
. They observed haste religiously;
within ten minutes they stood upon a
float at the foot of a flight of wooden
steps down the aide of tha town wharf.
while the promised rowboat of Mr.
Breed drew in, at moat leisurely pace,
to meet them.
Aboard and away from the wharf,
the burden of Alan's solicitude seemed
to grow lighter with every squeal
of the greaseless oarlocks, with ev
ery dip and splash of the blades
which, wielded by a crew of villainous'
countenance, brought them nearer tha
handsome motorboat which Mr. Breed
designated as his own. It was not
until Alan looked up suddenly to And
Mr. Breed covering him with a re
volver of most vicious character that
he had the least apprehension of any
danger nearer than tbe offing, where
Judith's schooner might be lurking,
waiting for Its prey to come out and
be devoured.
"I'll take that money bolt cf yours,
young feller," Mr. Breed announced.
"and be quick about It not forgetting
what's In your trousers pocket!"
In the passion of his indignation
Alan neglected entirely to play the
game by the rule. The Indifference
he displayed toward the weapon was
positively unprofessional for he
knocked It aside as If It had been
nothing more dangerous than a straw.
And In the same flutter of sn eyclnsh
he launched himself like a wildcat at
the throat of Mr. Breed.
Before that one knew what was hap
pening he hsd gone over the stern
and had Involuntarily disarmed him
self as well.
The other two men made a sad busi
ness of attempting to overpower Mr.
Barcus. In less than a minute they
were both overboard.
"And Just for this," Alan said befor
getting out of earshot "I'm going to
treat my party to a Joy-rido In your
pretty powerboat"
He concluded this speech abruptly
as Barcus brought them up under the
quarter of the power cruiser.
Within two minutes the motor was
spinning contentedly, the mooring had
been slipped, and the motorboat v. as
heading out of the harbor.
Within five minutes she had left it
well astern and was shooting ruiiidly
westward, making nothing of the buf
fets of a very tolerable sea kicked up
by the freshening southwesterly wind.
"My friend," observed Alan, "as
our acquaintance ripens 1 ora more
and more impressed that neither of ua
was born to die a natural death.
Shadowed Him.
whether abed or at the hands of those
who dislike us; but rather to be
hanged as common pirates."
"You have the courage of igno
rance," Barcus replied coolly; "if
you'll take the trouble to glance astern
I promise you a sight that will move
you to suspend Judgment for the time
being,"
At this Alan sat up with a start.
Back against the loom of the Eliza
beth Islands through which they had
navigated while be nodded, shone the
milk-white sails of an able schooner.
Sheets all taut and every Inch of
canvas fat with the beam wind, she
footed It merrily In their wake a sil
ver Jet spouting from her cutwater.
' A -
CHAPTER XX.
I Hell-Fire.
But by this etage In his history Mr.
Law had arrived at a state of mind
Immune to surprise at the discovery
that be had once more failed to elude
the vigilance and pertinacity of the
woman who sought his life.
He viewed the schooner with no
more display of emotion than resided
in narrowing eyelids and a tightening
of tha muscles about his mouth. '
"Much farther to go?" he Inquired
presently, in a colorless voice.
"At our present pace say, two
boors." .:
"And will that enable ua to hold
our own?"
' "Just about" Barcus allowed, squint
ing critically at the chase; "she's
some footer, that schooner; and this
la Just the wind she likes best" '
."How much lead have we got?"
"A mile or so none too much."
' "Anything to be done to mend mat
ters r
"Nothing but pray. If you remem
ber how." i i ..
. In the end they made It by a narrow
margin..- The face of Judith Trine waa
distinctly revealed by the chill gray
light of early dawn to those aboard
tha power cruiser aa she swept na
through tha reaches of New Bedford
-' .-' - - -; ' . '
1 1
harbor and aimed for tha first wharf
that promised a fair landing on tha
main waterfront of tha city.
There was neither a policeman nor
a watchman of any sort In sight
Nor was there, for all his hopes and
prayers, based on the telegram to
Dlgby, a sign of a motor car.
Still, not much of the street was
revealed. The docks on either hand
were walled and roofed, cutting off the
view.
If they ran for it they must surely
be overhauled. Something must be
done to hinder the crew of tbe
schooner from landing.
"Here!" he cried sharply to Barcus.
"You take Rose and hurry to the
street and find that motor-car. 1
know she's there. Dlgby never failed
me yet!"
"But you "
"Don't waste time worrying about
me. I'll be with you In threo Bhakes.
I'm only going to put a spoke In Ju
dith's wheel. I've got a sthenic!"
AS for his scheme ho had none
other than to give them buttle, to sac
rifice himself If need be, to make sure
the oscupe of Kosc.
Sheer luck smile:) on Mm to this
extent, that in turning his cyo lighted
on a four-.'oot length of stout, three
Inch scantling, an excellently for
midable club.
But soon, disarmed, his case was
deBperato and there were two al
ready safe upon the dock und others
madly scrambling up to reinforce
them.
Wildly he cast about for some sub
stitute weapon, lie leaped toward a
small pyramid of little but heavy kegs,
and seizing one, swung It overhead
and cast It full force Into the midriff
of his nearest enemy; so that thie one
doubled up convulsively, with a Bick
ish grunt, and vanished in turn over
the end of the wharf.
His fellow followed with less Injury.
But Alan had no time to wonder
whether the man had tr;r.;)cd and
thrown himself in his effort to escape
a second hurtling kej?, or had turned
coward and fled. It was enough that
ho had returned, precipitately nnd
heavily, to the schooner.
The keg. meeting with no resistance,
pursued him even to the deck, where
the force of ite impact split its seams.
None of the combatants, lmwevor,
Alan least of all, noticed that the pow
der that tillered out was black und
coarse.
In the same breath he heard a
friendly voice shout Warning lur up
the dock, and knew Uiut HarcuB was
coming to his aid.
A glance over-shoulder, too, discov
ered the cause of the warning; two
men who had thus far escaped his
attentions wero maneuvering to fall
upon him from behind. The bound
required to evade them brougiit him
face to face with Jud)b, as she landed
on the dock.
"Oh," sho cried, "1 hate you, 1 liato
you "
' So you've said, my dear, but "
His final words were not audible
even to himself. In his confidence
(now that Barcus was taking care of
the others) and his lnipationce with
the woman, and In hlB perhaps un
worthy wish to demonstrate conclu
sively how cheap he held her, Alan
had tossed the pistol over the end of
the v. harf.
It was an old-fRshloned weapon, and
the force with which It struck the
deck released the hammer.
Instantly the .44 cartridge blazed
Into the open head of a broken powder
keg.
And with a roar like the trump of
doom and a mighty gust of flame and
smoke the docks of the schooner were
riven and shattered; her masts tot
tered and fell
CHAPTER XXI.
Anticlimax.
Alan came to himself supported by
Barcus his senses still reeling from
the concussion of that thunderbolt
which he had so unwittingly loosed
the cloud of sulphurous smoke and yet
dissipated by the wind,
Judith lay at his feet, stunned; and
round about other figures of men In
sensible, If not, for all he could say,
dead,'.
And then Barcus was hustling him
unceremoniously down the wharf.
"Come! Come!" he rallied Alan.
"Full yourself together and keep a
stiff upper Up. Rose is waiting in
the car, and if you don't want to be
arrested you'll stir your stumpj, my
son! That explosion is going to bring
the worthy burghers of New Bedford
buzzing round our ears like a swarm
of hornets!'.
His prediction was Justified even
before it was made; already (he near
by dwellings were vomiting half
clothed humanity; already a score of
people were galloping down toward
the bead of the wharf; and In their
number a policeman appeared as If by
magic.
And while the man hesitated Aian
grabbed him by the shoulder, .threw
him bodily from the car, dropped Into
his seat cried a warning to Rose, and
threw In the clutch. The machine re
sponded without a Jar; they were a
hundred feet distant from the scene
of the accident before Alan waa fairly
settled In his place.
As he grew more and more calm, be
congratulated himself on having drawn
an excellent car In tbe lottery, of
chance. 7.
Yet his congratulations were prema
ture; they were not ten minutes out
of the environs of the city when Rose
left her seat and knelt behind his, to
communicate the Intelligence that
they were already being pursued.
A heavy touring car, she said It waa.
driven by a man, a woman In the
seat by Ua side Judith tha Utter, tha
man an bid amploya of her filbert)
by tha same of MarroJihat
Marrophatl
Alan remembered that one.'
Ha could only trust In his skill aa
a driver, and skill Is the lesser factor
In such a race.
For his own part, he drove like an
exceptionally cunning madman, , . .
And then, quite clearly, he recog
nized the time and tha place and tha
character of tha road that lay before
him as the car sped like a dragon-fly
down a slight grade.
From the bottom of the grade It .
swung away In a wide, graceful curve,
bordered for some distance by railroad .
tracks on a slightly lower level.
He had guessed the fiendish plan of
the other driver only too truly.
As they approached at express
speed the Mretch where the road par-
I .
The Face or Judith Wat Distinctly
I Revealed.
j I'llcli'd the tracks Alan i;i'u;;tit to liug
the left hand side of the road, but in
I vain.
Itoarin?. with lis mutllcr cut out, the
j huisuii:s car swept tip;.i;d battled him,
hiineing itr. ripht forward wheel up
I bt-xidc the left rear wheel of his enr,
tlirn more slowly forging up until,
with its weipht, bulk and eupenor
i pov.-er, it forced him inch by Inch to
I the ripht. toward the tracks, until his
t rhhl-hand wheels left Hie road and
ran on uneven turf, until the left-hand
wheels as well lost grip on the road
metal, until the car began to dip on
tho slope to the tracks.
There followed a maniac moment
when the world was upside down.
Alan'B car slipped and skidded, swung
sideways with frightful momentum
toward the railroad tracks, caught its
wheels against the ties, and . . .
The sun swuns in the heavens like a
bail on a string. There was a crash, a
roar . . , There wns nothing ob
livion ...
The car had turned turtle, pinning .
Rose and Alan beneath It.
"Alan!" she gasped. "You are not
killed?"
"No not even much hurt, I fancy,"
he replied. "And you?"
"Not much"
The deep-throated roar of the loco
motive bellowing danger silenced him.
He closed hiB eyes.
.Then abruptly the weight wa3 lifted
from his chest. Ho saw a man drag
ging Hose from under the machine,
and saw that the man was Marrophat
And almost Immediately someone lift
ed his head and shoulders, caught him
with two hands beneath his arm pits
and drew him clear of the machine.
And the face of his rescuer was th
face of Judith Trine.
Tho crash ho had expected, of tils
car being crumpled up by the oncom
ing locomotive, did not follow.
As ho scrambled to his fuet, hie first
glance was up tho track, and discov
ered the train. slowing to a halt.
His next was one of wonder for the
countenance of Judith Trine as she
stood, at a little distance, regarding
him; her look almost Illegible, a curi
ous compound of passions coloring it
relief, regret, hatred, love .
His third glance descried beyond
her the figures of Marrophat carrying
Rose In his arms, stumbling as he ran
toward his car on the highroad.
He moved precipitately to pursue,
but found bis way barred by Judith.
"No!" she cried violently. "No. vou
shall not 1"
Her hand sought the grip of a re
volver that protruded from her pocket
With a short, hysterical gasp, he be
gan to laugh.
Tbe hot blood mantled her exquisite
face like red flit. She caught her
breath with a sob, then flung wildly
at him:
"Well, if you must know It's true.
I can't bring mjtoelf to kill you. t
would to God I could. But I can't
For all that you t jfiall die I could not
save you if I wou 1 ! And this I prom
ise .you you sbll never see Rose
again before you lie!"
And while he stood gaping sha
swung from him imd ran, quickly cov
ering the little d stance between him
and the car.
As she Jumped If to this and dropped
down upon the laat beside her half
conscious sister, 1 tarrophat swung tbe
car away.
It vanished In a dust-cloud as a
throng of railroa', employea surround
ed and assailed tim with clamorous
questions.
(TO BB C ONTINUK& '
l